TC Taylor continues to win after the Deion Sanders era

TC Taylor returned to his cell phone sometime Saturday after hoisting another SWAC championship trophy at the Mississippi Veterans Memorial Coliseum. A text message was waiting for the Jackson State football coach.

It was from Deion Sanders, the former Jackson State coach who won two SWAC championships himself before moving to Colorado after the 2022 season. He congratulated Taylor, who was promoted after Sanders left, on another SWAC championship for JSU.

“He always supported me,” Taylor told the Clarion Ledger on Tuesday. “So it was good to hear from him. After that game he just told me to win this weekend.”

Jackson State (11-2) is back in the Celebration Bowl for the third time in four seasons, playing South Carolina State (9-2) in the Black National Championship on Saturday (11 a.m., ABC) at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. on the line.

Sanders made the play twice with JSU but never won. Some thought the Tigers would regress if he left, but the 46-year-old Taylor has put them in a position to accomplish what Sanders couldn’t.

How TC Taylor kept Jackson State as champions in the SWAC

Taylor was the offensive coordinator under Sanders. He describes the squad he inherited as “pretty poor”. It was taken both quantitatively and qualitatively.

Travis Hunter, a Heisman Trophy finalist this season, transferred to Colorado with Sanders. This also applies to star quarterback Shedeur Sanders, his older brother Shilo and leading rusher Sy’Veon Wilkerson. SWAC Freshman of the Year Kevin Coleman Jr. transferred to Louisville. Assistant coaches also followed Deion Sanders to Colorado. Taylor estimates that there were around 40 to 50 players left in the squad after the mass departures.

Taylor’s first task as coach was to establish his culture, a task particularly necessary with so many new players. Taylor had been the coach since 2005 after playing at Jackson State from 1998-2001. He said he picked up several tips during his stints at Coahoma Community College, Texas Southern and North Carolina Central. He said he also called other coaches he knew in the sport to get advice.

“I believe in what I believe in,” Taylor said. “I wanted our football team to be physically active. I wanted a dominant defense and I wanted to be able to play offense and dictate the football.”

The Tigers posted a respectable 7-4 record in Taylor’s first season. This season they are SWAC champions, have won nine straight games and are ranked in the top 10 in the FCS on offense and defense.

Taylor, who was named SWAC Coach of the Year, said he realized in the offseason that this team was special.

“When we got them in the spring and summer, you could just see them coming together,” he said. “We knew we were talented. But for me, just like the head coach and the leader, my job was to get everyone to come together and believe in each other and play for each other.”

Why Jackson State can win, what that would mean

Jackson State spent time this week watching videos of national championship celebrations. Teams like Alabama, Ohio State and Clemson were shown.

The Tigers, of course, hope they’ll be the ones celebrating with helmets thrown in the air, hugs from players and coaches and plenty of confetti snow angels.

“Just seeing the atmosphere and the feeling, the fun everyone had after they won, I wanted them to see that,” Taylor said. “(Assistant Chief) Coach Otis (Riddley) laid that out for the team today. We want to convey that feeling this weekend between 4:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. and bring the trophy back to Jackson.”

This Jackson State team doesn’t have the national superstars like Hunter and Shedeur Sanders, but it does have a handful of outstanding players. Eleven players were selected to the All-SWAC first and second teams, one of the best in the conference. Running back Irv Mulligan was named SWAC Offensive Player of the Year and another running back, Travis Terrell Jr., was named SWAC Freshman of the Year.

Starting quarterback Jacobian Morgan suffered an injury in the second quarter of the SWAC championship game and did not return. The Tigers were seven points behind when Zy McDonald was brought on. He proved to be a spark as JSU scored 24 unanswered points in the 41-13 win. McDonald also left late in the game with an injury, so Cam’Ron McCoy also played quarterback.

MORE:TC Taylor leads Jackson State to SWAC title after “the cupboard was bare.” He can overtake Deion Sanders next

Taylor didn’t have an update on Morgan but said McDonald left the game with cramps. He also didn’t name who the starter would be in the Celebration Bowl.

Breaking News

Dellupodisabato

TC Taylor continues to win after the Deion Sanders era

Leave a Reply Cancel reply